![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9twbfih7tmbjdb5k.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs placed reliever Gavin Hollowell on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation before their series opener against the New York Yankees on Friday and recalled left-hander Antoine Kelly from Triple-A Iowa.<\/p>\n
There could be help coming soon for the Cubs’ bullpen, though.<\/p>\n
What they’re saying:<\/p>\n
Manager Craig Counsell said injured closer Daniel Palencia will throw a live bullpen session in Chicago on Saturday and is nearing a return. Palencia, who led the Cubs last season with 22 saves, has been out since June 16 with a mild right elbow flexor strain.<\/p>\n
Hallowell\u2019s injury flared during the Cubs’ series in St. Louis earlier this week. He has a 2.51 ERA over 14 1\/3 innings in 14 games this season, striking out 13 and walking eight while not factoring into a decision.<\/p>\n
Kelly was 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 19 1\/3 innings over 13 games with Iowa since the Cubs acquired him for cash from the Dodgers on June 6. The 26-year-old from suburban Park Ridge, Illinois, has yet to pitch in the majors.<\/p>\n
Palencia has been limited to 19 games and 16 2\/3 innings this season and is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and three saves.<\/p>\n
Counsell said that pending the outcome of Palencia\u2019s bullpen session, the righty could move on to a rehab assignment in the minors.<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s probably ready to start making appearances in games,” Counsell said. “Daniel\u2019s coming back. He\u2019s throwing live, which means you\u2019re healthy. You\u2019ve just got to build up some volume.”<\/p>\n
Dig deeper:<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, injured starter Justin Steele, out since April 2025 following Tommy John surgery \u2014 then an April 2026 setback with a left flexor strain \u2014 played catch at Wrigley Field on Friday.<\/p>\n
“Made like 85 throws today, 80 throws, and then tomorrow do a lot more throws, and then get on the mound for 20 pitches,” Steele said.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old left-hander, however, has no idea when he might resume pitching at some level, even if he said he “feels good right now.”<\/p>\n
“Just finishing the the protocol or whatever it is that\u2019s in front of me,” he said.<\/p>\n
Steele was an All-Star starter in a breakout 2023 season when he was 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA. Injuries limited him to 24 games in 2024 when he was 5-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 24 games.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Steele pitched just four games with a 3-1 record and 4.76 ERA before he got hurt in an April 7 win over Texas.<\/p>\n
Cubs<\/a>Sports<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Cubs placed reliever Gavin Hollowell on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation before their…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":972388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[20167,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-972387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-cubs","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117017422589426546","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=972387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/972388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=972387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=972387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=972387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}